Improvement in apparatus for excavating ditches



W. H. MINTER. '-rmmws FOR E XCAV'ATING BITCHES.

Patented Oct. 2,18774 UNITED STATEs ATENT QrrIcE.

WILLIAM H. MINTER, OF LONDON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR EXCAVATING DITCHES.

Spccication forming part of Letters Patent No. 195,833, dated October 2,1577; application led May l, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. MINTER, of London, Madison county, Stateof Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improved Apparatus forExcavating Ditches, which improvement is fully set forth in thefollowing specilication and accompanying drawing.

The particular purpose of this invention is the easy clearing out andrestoration of old drainage-ditches, though it may, if required, beemployed in the making of new ditches.

Open drainage-ditches soon become obstructed by matters which are washedinto them by rain blown in by the winds and brought in with the waterfrom other communicating ditches, so that their general usefulness isabridged or altogetherdestroyed. The restoration of such ditches isnearly as troublesome as the original opening; but by my invention agreat portion of the trouble is removed, and the restoration is renderedcomparatively easy and inexpensive.

My invention consists in an adjustable anchor-bar to sustain therequired pulleys, amovable platform to extend across the ditch, aninclined platform extending from the cross-platform down into the ditch,and suitable road shovels or scrapers to transport the dirt om thebottom of the ditch to said platform.

That others may fully understand my invention, I will particularlydescribe it, having reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein-Figure lis a perspective showing my apparatus in use. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of thescraper or shovel. r A is the side wall of the ditch. a. in Fig. 2represents the present bottom of deposit brought into the ditch, as setforth. b is the proposed bottom grade.

C is a timber or anchor-bar sufficiently long to reach across the ditchand rest upon the firm banks on either side. This bar is provided witharms d attached at each end, and said arms are provided withanchor-lukes at their ends, so as to penetrate and hold in the ground,as shown. 'Io these stocks d I prefer to attach the pulley rope andblock f for operation, as hereinafter described; and in order to keepthe stocks d in an upright position, and give them support both aboveand below the point of attachment to said pulley, I place upon the bar Cthe legs g g, which project forward and rest upon the ground andmaintain the said bar in a position above the lille of strain, as shown.

A platform, D, is also laid across the ditch, same distance in advanceof the bar C, and one end of an inclined slide-board, E, is secured tothe front edge of the said platform, while the other end rests in thebottom of the ditch.

One end of the rope c is permanently attached to one of theanchor-stocks d, as shown; said rope then leads oit' over theplatform Dand down the slide-board into the ditch, and, having been passed througha hook-block, h, it is led back to the block f, attached to the otheranchorstock, whence it passes again back along the bank of the ditch,and is secured to the singletree z', to which a draft-animal, F, isattached.

The hook-block h is attached to the bail of the shovel or scraper k, andas the animal walks along the bank of the ditch away from the platformD, the shovel b, with its load, will be drawn along the ditch bottom andup the slide-board to the platform. An attendant then unhooks the blockh, and attaches a draftanimal, G, whereby the shovel is drawn away toany desired point, and returned to the bank of the ditch opposite thepoint of excavation, where it is thrown down to the attendant in theditch.

To return the block h after being detached om the shovel k, a rope, m,is joined to the rope c, at the point of attachment of the singletreec', and said rope mis then led along the bank to a block, n, held by ananchor, p, and thence led back and secured to the block h. Then, afterthe shovel k has been drawn up to the platform D and detached, theanimal F is turned about and retraces his steps, as shown in dottedlines Fig. 1, and thereby draws the block h down to the bottom of theditch, where, by that time, the attendant has another shovel ready inposition for application of the block h. In this way, by usingalternately two or more shovels, the ditch may be rapidly cleaned andthe excavated material moved away to any desired distance.

The deposit a may lirst require loosening up with a plow, and this canbe operated by the Y form are lnounted upon runnercleats, which slideupon the ground as the platform is drawn back.

Friction-rollers r may be placed on the edges of the platform 1) toprevent the rope e from cutting the same.

In order to accommodate ditches of different Widths, it is preferable tomake the anchors d adjustable upon the bar because it is not advisableto set the anchors farther from the edge of the ditch than is necessary.To accomplish this result I secure the anchor to a head, I, arranged toslide upon the bar C, so that it can be adjusted toward or from the endand fixed at such point as may be desired. The leg gis also secured tosaid head, so that said leg and the anchor d are simultaneouslyadjusted.

Itis also advantageous to hinge the stock of the anchor d to the head I,as shown, so that said stock may be restored to an upright position bydrawing the bar backward and giving the legs g a new footing withoutresetting the anchors.

The inclined slide-board E has a string or stay-chain, t, stretched fromits lower end to the forward edge of the platform l), as shown in Fig.2, and the effect of this arrangement is to bind said platform andslide'board more firmly together when the loaded shovel is resting uponthem. It also enables the slideboard to act as a brace to support theforward edge of said platform, to keep it from sagging under the weightwhich it has to bear.

The shovel K is made with tiaring sides, as shown in Fig. 3, and saidsides have the same inclination as that proposed for the sides of theditch, so that the sides of the ditch may be trimmed and made of uniformslope Without special treatment, but merely by the act of excavating thebottom.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The anchor-barC, provided with the anchors d and legs g, for the purpose set forth.

2. The anchor-bar C, provided with the sliding heads I and the arms g,combined With the anchors d, hinged to the said heads, substantially forthe purpose set forth.

3. The platform I), adapted' to extend across the ditch and rest uponthe banks thereof, combined with the inclined slide-board E, secured toone edge of the platform, and adapted to extend thence down into theditch, all constructed substantially in the manner and for the purposeset forth.

4. The platform I), adapted to extend across the ditch and rest upon thebank thereof, and provided with the inclined slide-board E, combinedwith runners q across the ends of said platform, to support the same andenable it to be advanced along the side of the ditch, as set forth.

5. The platform D, extending` across and resting upon the sides of theditch, and provided with an inclined slide-board, E, attached to therear edge of said platform, combined with the stay-chain t, extendingfrom the rear end of the inclined slide-board to the front edge of thesaid platform, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The anchors d, platform D, and inclined slide-board E, combined withthe anchor p and traversing tackle-and-pulley system e h n,substantially as shown and described, whereby the excavation is effectedin the manner essentially as set forth.

WILLIAM H. MINTER.

Witnesses R. l). 0. SMITH, N. B. SMITH.

